SLEEPING DOGS Share New Single “Encino” In Advance of Debut EP Release This Friday, November 12

DT: NOVEMBER 9, 2021

FM: MITCH SCHNEIDER, KELLY WALSH/SRO PR

From left to right: Spider, Bobby Amodeo, Higgins X-13, George Hughes Jr., Danny Walker
Credit: Harmony Gerber

SLEEPING DOGS
SHARE NEW SINGLE, “ENCINO,”
AHEAD OF THE RELEASE OF DEBUT EP
‘SOMEWHERE OUT IN CALIFORNIA’
DUE THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12

LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE
BY THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ROCKERS WHO ARE THE
SPINOFF OF THE LATE ‘90s BAND WANK

SLEEPING DOGS today (November 9) have shared “Encino,” the third single from their debut EP SOMEWHERE OUT IN CALIFORNIA due this Friday (November 12). Listen to the song here. The Southern California rockers who are a spinoff of the late-90’s-formed outfit WANK recorded the five-song EP with producer Paul Miner (New Found Glory, Agnostic Front, H2O) and they’ll celebrate its release a day later (November 13) with a show at Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa. Tickets for the gig, along with performances from the legendary Bow Wow Wow (“I Want Candy”), Ganda and Kevin Never Talks, are on sale now here.

SLEEPING DOGS are building on the presence they’ve established with the EP’s first two singles: the upbeat and melodic rocker “Let’s Be Friends” and “No Mercy,” described by MXDWN as a “laid-back mid-tempo ska at its best, led by a slinky guitar lead from Walker. The upstrokes are never in much of a hurry, laying down an almost-funky groove for Amodeo to deliver the song’s message.”

“Encino” is a wide-open melodic pop anthem written by the band’s lead guitarist/songwriter Danny Walker and lit up with a powerful lead vocal from bassist Bobby Amodeo. “I wrote ‘Encino’ a while back,” says Walker. “Lyrically, it’s a stream of consciousness–there’s a lot going on in the lyrics. It’s a bit Freudian–a lot of death and sex, with a dash of show business and dream chasing.”

The verses are metaphorical and pulsing:

“Drive by suicide I got bombed by an apathetic girl with a streak so mean…
I got a TV girlfriend, she don’t know me, can’t communicate ignore me…
Stay with me and I’ll promise nothing, Ms. Encino took my money, I’m not your average
Son of Sam, kept down by the man, Encino”

And the chorus calls out for a sing-along:

“On a westbound Greyhound bus, somewhere out there, I’ll find love”

Elaborates Walker: “I wrote the bridge for the song during pre-production, and our EP found a title in the last phrase: ‘Maybe I found what I was looking for/Somewhere out in California.’”

Says Amodeo: “This was a fun one to belt out! Lyrically, I was drawn in and it felt easy to relate my own musical journey to the story. Vocally, I’m trying to connect on every theme and loved how this one came out.”

“The original demo of the song had a different chorus lyric, no organ and no bridge,” adds Walker. “Working through the song with the full band definitely helped us to improve the final track. George’s work on the organ is tasty, and our engineer/producer Paul Miner was helpful with tweaking the harmony vocal lines. I dig it.”

SLEEPING DOGS members include the entire lineup from WANK–Bobby Amodeo (bass, vocals), Danny Walker (lead guitar), Higgins X-13 (guitar, former member of The Offspring) and Spider (drums)—along with the addition of George Hughes, Jr. (keys), who is also the keyboardist for Ziggy Marley. WANK first made their mark in 1998 with their debut album on Maverick Records, which featured “Larry Brown” (produced by Mike Ness) and the KROQ hit “Forgiven.” WANK, who played shows with Social Distortion, The Specials, Goldfinger, and Deftones, split in 1999. In 2000, Walker formed and fronted HANDSOME DEVIL (RCA Records), and toured with Lit, The Used, Hoobastank and Zebrahead, and released three albums. WANK reformed in 2017 and released the full-length album White Knuckle Ride in 2020 and are currently on hiatus.